Newsmakers

A la carte Architects hired David Foster as an associate consultant. Foster has 38 years of experience in the design industry, including oversight on multiunit, multiconcept restaurant operations.

Automotive

Hammer’s Autoworks Inc. was recognized by 3M Co. as a 3M Top Shop for continually improving repair quality by standardizing repair processes. Hammer’s continues to implement new products that improve efficiency resulting in high quality and customer satisfaction.

Banking

Mark Uhler, president of Southwest Community Bank in Ozark, was appointed to serve on the Missouri Bankers Association Government Relations Committee. The committee develops policy recommendations on state and federal legislation that could impact Missouri commercial banks.

Crystal Hartin, a lender with Peoples Bank of the Ozarks, has successfully completed the two-year course of study at the Missouri Bankers Association School of Bank Management in Columbia. The program studies banking issues for industry professionals.

Springfield resident Kristin Tucker, assistant bank examiner for the Missouri Department of Economic Development’s Division of Finance, attended the Introduction to Examinations School at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Seidman Training Center in Arlington, Va. The training course was designed to provide report preparation and operations manager training for assistant bank examiners.

Education

Drury University professor Charles Ess was named as an Information Ethics Fellow by the Center for Information Policy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Ess, who teaches philosophy and researches online technology and ethics issues at Drury, will deliver a lecture at UWM and contribute a paper to the center.

Ozarks Technical Community College hired Joel Doepker as director of public relations and communications. He joins the school from Tulsa, Okla., where he was a reporter for KTUL-TV. He also is a five-time Michigan Emmy winner for his photojournalism work for WJRT-TV in Flint, Mich. Doepker replaces Cindy Hinds, who moved into a faculty position with the college.

Evangel University senior Megan Miller, a psychology and criminal justice major, spent 10 weeks this summer in an internship with the FBI. She was one of 150 students chosen from among more than 10,000 applicants. The interns worked with special agents and professional staff on FBI cases and management issues. Miller worked in the Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, Va.

Floral

Wickman’s Garden Village was named an FTD Top Florist Member for 2005. It marks the fifth consecutive year that Wickman’s has received the honor, which places it in the top 5 percent of FTD member florists. FTD Group Inc. provides products and services to approximately 20,000 member florists in the United States and Canada.

Food

Bold Ribs, which does business as Springfield Rib Crib BBQ & Grill, added Justin Gibson as a new operating partner. Gibson, who has been with Rib Crib BBQ & Grill since 2002, has eight years of restaurant management experience. He is an operating partner at the Rib Crib location on North Glenstone Avenue in Springfield.

Bold Ribs also hired Michael Dodson as general manager of Rib Crib in Joplin. Dodson has 17 years of experience as a restaurant general manager.

Steak-Out Char-Broiled Delivery of Springfield received the corporate National Sales Award, which recognizes operators who achieve top royalty sales in the Steak-Out franchise system.

Health Care

Springfield Inpatient Physicians added three employees to its staff. Dr. Robin Trotman provides inpatient infectious disease consultations. He earned his medical degree from Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency at University of Missouri-Columbia and an infectious disease fellowship at Wake Forest University.

Debra Nuetzhorn and Leo Rauch are physician assistants. Nuetzhorn is certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants and earned a master’s degree in physician assistant studies from the University of Nebraska. Her specialties include primary care and surgery. Rauch also is certified by the NCCPA and earned a master’s degree in physician assistant studies from Missouri State University.

Toy Bartley, practice manager for St. John’s Clinic – Emergency Physicians, is one of two new Medical Group Management Association Missouri Board members for 2006–07. MGMA’s 20,000 members manage and lead more than 12,000 organizations and more than 242,000 physicians nationwide.

Insurance

Gibson & Associates Professional Claims Management hired Toby “Jay” Hulstine as vice president and equity partner. He is responsible for litigation management claims.

Ollis and Co. added Leslie Barnett and Jonathan Haden to its staff. Barnett, an account manager in the property and casualty department, is a licensed Missouri insurance agent with 20 years of insurance experience. She worked for Ollis June 1997–December 2004. Haden, an inside sales representative in the company’s personal lines department, received a degree in public relations and advertising from Drury University in May.

American National Property and Casualty named Mark Crabtree as its Leader of the Quarter for the second quarter of 2006. Crabtree is a manager of systems programming in the company’s information services division.

Marketing

Global Net Designs added Cory Ostroski and Stephen Walcher to its staff. Ostroski is a project manager for the company’s Web site design clients, coordinating site development and graphic design projects within the company. Walcher is a Web site developer and graphic artist, handling Web site updates and interactive Flash design for clients.

Sales

The Port Arrowhead Nixa dealership for MarineMax boats and yachts has achieved Sea Ray Master Dealer certification, which ranks the dealership among the top Sea Ray dealerships in the country. An intensive third-party certification and on-site audit process evaluates all aspects of a dealership’s sales, delivery and service practices.